The Mark of the Demon
by MadHat11D6
Summary: One fatal rule is broken and Raven's past comes back to haunt her. Now, a war is on the horizon. A war that could ultimately destroy the world. And the only hope for mankind may just be the ones they condemned themselves. Those with the mark. Please R&R!
1. Prologue

I'm trying out this new idea that's been in my head for a while. For those select view that happen to have fallen upon this, and also followed either of my other stories, sorry for the lack of update and/or unposted sequel. I have some CRAZY writers block. Anyways, enjoy!

Prologue:

It has been written that every soul, whether it be male or female, young or old, bears a certain mark. This mark was always known to be unique to every soul, however similar the mark may seem. The mark holds every trait of the soul, from something as simple as likes and dislikes, to memories from past lives. The mark is what keeps the soul whole.

Just as it keeps past memories, the mark keeps a record of every moment of anger, of hate. And once too much of these feelings have tainted the soul, it begins to wither. The soul will become evil. If not saved, the soul will slowly start to vanish, disappearing into a pit of anger and despair that no soul has ever escaped.

Tartarus.

And there, they rot and burn.

Many souls have had to endure this pain. So few have made it to the golden gates. But some are able to evade both. You see, every so often, a mark is placed on a new soul by an evil entity. The soul, of course, does not automatically become evil. But there is a darkness welling within it, a darkness that is nearly impossible to control. But with this mark, the soul cannot wither, and thus it can succumb to the evil without consequence, as well as spread good without reward.

The mark of a demon.

The angels cry in despair at the sight of the demonic markings. But all they could do was watch as unknowing souls were tainted in such a way. To make the very soul become the one thing angels fear.

They watched for centuries before the great eternal war. But demons and angels cannot destroy one another, for they are one and the same. Eternal entities representing good or evil. But still, they fought. The fought over the markings of the soul.

They fought, and they fought. Until one day, the masters of the eternal beings, ranking as high as gods, came up with a compromise. A treaty. As long as no more souls were given the demonic mark, the demons were allowed to roam on earth, allowed to try to bring anyone to the evil, and no angel would intervene until the demon had moved on. Signed by eternals, and protected on Earth.

With the eternal signature, should the treaty be broken, the demons would take their freedom on Earth and mark every soul that passed them with their evil, and war would start on Earth. The eternal war would destroy the planet, and soon, no souls would be left to taint, and all angels and demons would cease to exist.

With no eternals to watch over other planets, this universe would cease to exist. If the treaty were broken, Armageddon would strike, and nothing would survive.


	2. Chapter 1: In the Dark

1: In the Dark

Young Raven crept down the empty corridor, trying her hardest not to make a sound. Her father had told her not to leave her room when it's dark. He said to stay in bed and don't move. Or else.

Raven was only five. She was small and her father constantly told her she was weak and stupid. But she knew what the 'or else' would mean. It could be anything from fifty lashes to being thrown in the pit. And Raven honestly didn't know what she preferred. One was painful, and would scar her body for the rest of her life. The other was dark, cold, and lonely. She would be in there for weeks. It would do nothing but make her weak, but it would scar her mind. Oh, yes, both fates were equally terrible.

But tonight, Raven had heard something. In fact, she saw something. Not the usual birds cawing or rats screeching. Not even the occasional scream. No, this sound was much different. More like a growl. Right in her room. It was deep and rumbling, and vibrated throughout the entire room.

At first, Raven had decided she was more afraid of the punishment she would undoubtedly receive from Trigon if she were to be caught outside her room. But the growl vibrated throughout her room again. And, still fearful of the pit, and the pain from the smack of a whip, she remained, hidden under her covers, determined to crush the fear that had bubbled up inside of her.

She waited for what felt like hours, listening intently to every click of the clock. The growling seemed to have stopped. Tentatively, she peeked out from under her covers. Something large and dark stood in the corner of her room. It smiled, it's yellow teeth razor sharp. All she could see were it's teeth.

It growled again. Raven yelled, and put her hands to her ears. The entire room shook violently. She was thrown off her mattress, and in a rush, she bolted out of the room. It wasn't until she could no longer hear the sound of the beast, and could no longer feel even the tiniest hint of a vibration that she realized her mistake. Sure, an unidentified beast had entered her room, but now she was out of her room, scared out of her wits. Two things for which she would be punished harshly.

And so she continued to creep down the dark corridor, trying to control her breathing. There was only one thing that Raven was allowed to fear, and that was Trigon. Raven took a deep breath, and tried to control her shaking. Even if she was afraid, she was not allowed to show it.

Now that her mind was clear of those pesky emotions, Raven weighed her options. She could stay out here all night, and go back to her room before her father would come to awaken her. No, he would know. He would find her.

She could simply go back to her room. What ever that was couldn't hurt her. Trigon didn't love Raven, but she knew he needed her alive. And if anything came too close to killing her, he would be there. This idea scared Raven more than anything. Not only would she get hurt, after she recovered, her father would beat her for being weak and throw her in the pit anyways.

Finally, she decided. She was going to go to her uncle's room. He was always kind to her. Well, as kind as any demon could ever be. If she were with her uncle, she was sure that Trigon wouldn't beat her too bad.

She turned down another corridor, and bumped right into someone. She fell over, and looked upon the person, trying to hide the fear in her eyes.

"Young mistress?" A high-pitched scratchy voice said. Raven composed her self and quickly stood up. "What are you doing out of bed?"

"I was…um…there was something in my room and I…"

The woman smiled. The heavily wrinkled face creased even further, and the kindness in her eyes was unmistakable. "And you were scared. Come now, child, I'll take you back to your room."

The woman held out her hand, and Raven took it, letting the woman lead her through the halls. The woman was barely a head taller than Raven, and looked older than dust. Her hand felt leathery, and she held Raven's hand a little too hard. Raven knew this woman. It was her nanny. The nameless nanny. She always watched Raven and her cousins during the afternoon. She cooked and cleaned for them as well. She always seemed nice enough, but that was how everyone acted around here.

The Nanny pulled Raven harshly down the wrong hall.

"Naughty children must be punished," she said, cackling like a witch. Raven didn't even struggle. The nanny lifted her off her feet and swung her, slamming her against a door. Raven whimpered, and then tried to conceal her pain.

The door swung open.

"What?" Trigon boomed. Raven saw him sitting in his human form behind a dark desk. "This better be important," he growled.

"This one wandering around the castle! Because a stupid little dog scared her!"

A dog? What Raven had saw certainly could not be described as a 'stupid little dog.' It was big! With razor sharp teeth!

Trigon narrowed his eyes. "Throw her in the pit." He went back to his work as if they had never disturbed him. Raven's eyes widened, but she had learned never to speak against her father.

The nanny dragged Raven away, and the door slammed behind them. Raven tried to struggle. She tried to pull away. Even though she was never alone in the pit, she couldn't stand it. It was too dark, to creepy. It made her feel week and useless. And the feeling got even worse when she saw how well her constant companion had adjusted.

They turned yet another corner, and Raven saw the small dark haired boy sitting right outside the door to the pit, as he always was. He had bright red eyes that seemed almost too big for his face, and rather girlish features.

"Jacob! What did I tell you about waiting outside!" the nanny snapped.

"Nothing. You just told me not to open the door so Christian can get some food again. I mean, you told me not to open the doors ever again."

The nanny smiled. "Of course, my apologies."

Raven remembered when that had happened. After the nanny told Jacob not to open the door to get Christian food, Jacob had opened the door, and said that he should not get in trouble because he didn't open the door to get his brother food. He had opened it because he was bored and wanted someone to play with. He didn't get in trouble. Just a smile and a pat on the head from his father, Raven's uncle.

Sometimes, Raven really hated Jacob.

The nanny thrust the door open, and threw Raven in.

The darkness enveloped all around her, almost as if it were swallowing her. It appeared to swirl around, dancing with the light, until the light was no longer visible. Raven hit the bottom, and sucked in a breath, curling into a ball immediately.

"Christian," Raven whispered. She couldn't see anything. It was cold, damp. She felt so lonely. Christian could always see. He always made her feel a lot better.

She felt him touch her shoulder, and she moved closer to him. She remembered what he looked like. Smaller than Jacob, with red eyes that were definitely too big for his face. He looked a lot like his brother, and though they were twins, he looked much younger than Jacob. She hadn't actually seen him in a couple of months, since he was always down here.

Raven knew that she had it bad, since her father obviously only saw her as a burden. And she figured Jacob had it pretty bad too, considering that his father may actually like him a little bit. But Christian had it worse. Christian's father absolutely hated him.

And yet, here he was, always there to comfort Raven.

Just like always, Raven started talking, because Christian didn't talk anymore. Raven didn't know weather he had forgotten how, or he was too scared too. And she waited for the doors to open. Maybe this time her father would let her out after only a couple of weeks.

Raven woke up, much earlier than usual. Shaken up by the nearly forgotten memory, Raven took a longer shower than usual. She almost hoped it would wash away all the stress and heartache that came from thinking about the time spent with her father. It didn't.

She got to the common room before the sun was even fully in the sky, and went straight to making some of her favorite herbal tea. Even that didn't help. Raven sighed, setting her cup down on the kitchen table.

There were some nice memories of the time spent with her father. Of course, none of that actually involved her father. It was always those twins, her cousins. When she was thrown in the pit, Christian would comfort her. When she was hit or they brought out the dreaded whip, Jacob was always there. Not that you could really call those good memories. They felt good at the time. But sometimes…sometimes neither of them could comfort her. Because sometimes she was stuck in exile, tied up and thrown into her room, the door locked. After awhile, the nanny stopped letting Jacob talk to her through the door.

Raven sighed and picked up the tea again, and on pure instinct tried to crush any feeling that was bubbling up. Sadness, resentment…they always caused problems, made for poor decisions. She'd been able to deal with all the memories, and all the emotions that rushed her afterwards for years. But today was just one of those days.

She looked around the silent room, and then checked the time. It was only 4 o'clock. No one would be up for at least another hour. Raven stood, and walked over to the couch. Sitting down, she looked around, making sure she was completely alone. She laid back, and closed her eyes. And for a while, she decided, she would try to feel something – anything. If only for a while.


	3. Chapter 2: Bad Omens

Thanks for faving my story! You know who you are =)And I must need to add something I believe I forgot…

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Teen Titans, or any of the characters. I own only my OC's and the story line. **

2: Bad Omens

By the time any of the other titans had woken up, Raven had made her way to the roof. Emotions could be so tedious. No one else needed to see what she what feeling. No one else needed to be burdened with stories of her past.

Raven watched the sun rise. The oranges mixing with the red and pinks, a hint of purple. It was beautiful. Nothing compared to sunrise in Azarath: the soft blues and purples mixing with the dark pinks. She really did miss it sometimes. But Raven couldn't let her mind dwell on such things. She hadn't been there in more than a decade, and now her beautiful home lay in ashes.

The sky in her father's home, the Otherworld, was also a sight to behold. It was always the color of the sunrise, and at sunset and sunrise, it would mix with dark purples and blues, and even black. She couldn't say she missed the Otherworld. But she most definitely missed the sky.

"Raven?"

She jumped, but quickly hid her shock.

"What are you doing on the roof?" Beast Boy continued. Raven sighed. He just had to always interrupt her peace. It was an annoying habit of his.

"What are you doing up so early?" Raven countered.

"I asked you first."

Raven decided not to argue with him. It was pointless.

"I was just thinking," Raven said, only telling half the truth.

"Thinking 'bout what?"

Raven frowned. "Why are you up so early?"

The green changeling looked shy, and he unconsciously scratched the back of his neck. Raven raised an eyebrow, looking at him expectantly.

"I, uh, fell off my bed. I was having a really weird thing. Something to do with talking tofu -"

"I don't want to know," Raven interrupted. She stood. "I guess I'll leave you to…what ever it is that you do." And with that, she walked off the roof.

Beast Boy wanted to tell her that she could stay with him, but he kept his mouth shut. He sat on the edge, and looked over to the real reason he had come onto the roof. The sunrise.

The usually bustling streets of Jump City were nearly empty. The stores had closed temporarily; the people had rushed for cover, avoiding these certain streets. And for good reason. A giant creature that closely resembled a dog had made its way onto the streets. At first, it appeared to be nothing more than an ugly dog, and if not that, than an ugly bear. With its sharp teeth – some of which were protruding from its mouth – and it's long shaggy black hair, it was only slightly concerning. Upon closer inspection, people starting noticing the weird things. The dog had one glowing red eye, and the other was just a dark hole. They started screaming when it started breathing fire.

The titans arrived on the scene only minutes later.

"What is that thing?" Cyborg said.

"It doesn't matter," Robin said, his weary eyes expertly hidden behind his mask. "We just need to take it down. Titans go!"

They all jumped into action. All but one. While Beast Boy charged it as a rhino, and Cyborg fired his canon, and while Starfire shot star bolts, and Robin threw various weapons and devices, Raven stood rooted in her place.

She knew what that thing was. It wasn't just the dog that had haunted her at night all those years ago. No, it was something she feared most. The thing that had almost killed her. It had shredded her, and then dragged what was left of her away while her father watched. It was her punishment. And it never left her alone, not until she finally escaped to Earth.

Many people believed it was an omen of death, but Raven knew better. This dog, this Hellhound, it was death.

Suddenly, Raven was thrown off her feet. She rolled onto the pavement, and looked up helplessly.

Beast Boy appeared to be trying to protect her from the beast.

"Raven, what is the matter?" Starfire said, flying down next to her friend. Another explosion went off as Robin threw yet another disc at the dog.

Raven just stared at her, eyes wide like saucers.

"Raven!" Cyborg yelled, using his cannon to push the beast back. "Come on, girl! We need you." Starfire looked at Raven helplessly, before jumping back into action.

But Raven couldn't move. Her mind was filling with memories of this beast, of all the times she had seen it before. Of the pain of its bite, the grotesque tearing noise that her skin made as it ripped her to shreds.

It threw Beast Boy back, and used the new freedom to charge at Cyborg, head on. Starfire threw her fire bolts, and Robin even tried freezing it. But nothing could stop the Hellhound that was now charging right for Raven.

Raven held her hands up, trying to use the emotions to her advantage. But nothing happened. The last thing she saw was it's gnarled teeth, and the last thing she head was a grotesque ripping noise. Someone called out her name in the distance, and then everything went black.

**I didn't like this one too much, but bear with me, please. Because I do quite like the next chapter. Please, tell me what you think. =]**


	4. Chapter 3: Rest

3: Rest

Raven sat in the darkness. It was cold, and damp. Too familiar for her liking.

"Christian?" She whispered, her voice higher than usual, full of fear. When she didn't feel his hand on her shoulder, she got worried. "Jacob?" she squeaked. It was rare that Christian wasn't in here. She had even heard her uncle talking about making the pit Christian's permanent room. Jacob was in here occasionally, too. But there was always at least one other person in there with her.

She pulled herself into a sitting position, and felt the tears welling up in her eyes. She quickly wiped them away, not wanting to feel so weak.

Raven hugged her knees to her chest, and sat quietly. She closed her eyes, trying to think of a better place from a better time. This did nothing to ease her fears.

Raven hoped that this was just a bad dream. She hoped that when she woke up she wouldn't be in the pit anymore. She squeezed her eyes shut even tighter, hoping to open them to her bedroom, but when she opened her eyes there was only darkness.

A deep growl rumbled through the silence. Raven stood quickly, shaking, a cold sweat appearing on her brow. She looked around, completely blind in this kind of darkness. The growl echoed throughout the darkness again, closer this time. She took a step back, and froze.

She felt to hot breath on the back of her neck. Heard the sounds of a pant-like breath pattern. She could smell the rotten smell of death. She felt the razor sharp whiskers scraping the back of her neck, and the warm wetness of blood running down the back of her neck. Slowly, as if not to upset it, she turned around. It's whiskers cutting her neck slowly as she did so. Centimeters from her face were the gnarled yellow teeth, so bright they were the only things she could see. It's lips curled up, almost as if it were smiling at her.

It sniffed her curiously, before drawing back slightly, growling. It lifted one of its paws, she could feel the movement. She saw its massive nails protrude from the paw, stained red with blood. And then there was pain.

Raven sat up quickly, screaming and clutching at her side. Cold sweat covered her brow, and she was clenching her teeth, looking around in shock. She still clutched her side, as if enough pressure would take away the pain. If anything, it only made it worse. She breathed heavily, and looked around again, now confused. Why was she in the infirmary?

The doors opened, and the entire team rushed in, flicking on the lights. She held her arm up, as if trying to shield herself from the light.

"Raven, are you alright?" Robin said, as Cyborg ran to the machines and began checking her vitals.

"I'm fine," she said, less convincingly than she would have liked.

"No you are not!" Starfire said, pushing Raven back onto the cot. "You must rest, friend."

"She's gonna be alright, though, right?" Beast Boy said, looking over Cyborg's shoulder.

Cyborg sighed in relief. "Everything's stable. Just another week or so and you'll be back on your feet."

"Do you remember what happened?" Robin said.

Raven shook her head quickly, overwhelmed by her friends' worry for her.

"Guys give her some space!" Cyborg said. They all mumbled their apologies.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Robin said, softer this time.

Raven clutched her side. She looked down. Why wasn't she healing?

"I-I remember a dog…and it ran at me…"

Robin nodded. Raven breathed, relieved that Robin didn't pry. Raven remembered exactly what happened. She just desperately wanted to forget it.

"Why hasn't she healed yet?" Beast Boy squeaked.

"The scratch, I think," Cyborg said. "I think that thing may have temporarily cut off Raven's powers. Or her body's taken too much damage to heal properly."

"But what about when Beast Boy was the Beast?" Starfire said. "Friend Raven remained asleep while she healed. She had taken more of the damaged, did she not?"

"She did," Robin said. He looked at Raven.

"I don't know why this could be happening," Raven said honestly. Well, for the most part.

"Let us do the questioning on another day," Starfire said. She turned to Raven. "You must rest." She patted Raven's shoulder, and with a goodnight, left the room. The others followed suit.

"Get better, Rae."

"-ven," Raven corrected. Beast Boy smiled, and left the room, leaving Raven by herself all over again.

There was something eerie to the infirmary when no one was in it. Half the lights off, all those machines, all the medication. The fact that she needed all this didn't help. It made Raven feel weak. It made that one insecurity explode.

Raven remembered that last time she had met one of those beasts…all those years ago, her last time in the pit. She didn't want to remember it, but it just wouldn't leave her mind. There were so many things she never told her friends, never wanted them to know. They didn't need to know about her hardships. All that was in the past. At least, it was supposed to be.

Raven sometimes wondered what would have happened if she never escaped to Earth. Then she decided that she didn't want to know. She wouldn't have had so many friends to save her from her father. The twins had disappeared long before she escaped.

A fiery pain scraped across Raven's side, and she inhaled sharply, clutching her side. She pulled up her hospital gown and inspected the wound. Her entire side was bruised much farther than the bandages reached. She put her gown back down and lolled her head back.

This was why Raven hated dogs.

She got lost even further into her thoughts, as she would not allow sleep to take her. She knew she needed rest, but she also knew that sleep could not possibly provide any.


	5. Chapter 4: The Storm

**Thanks for the faves peeps! **

4: The Storm

A week had passed since the incident with the Hellhound. Raven had remained in the hospital wing, her wound simply refusing to mend. And Raven stubbornly refused any medication for the pain.

Everyone was worried for Raven. She'd never been in such a bad condition. Not even when Trigon tried to take over the world. Raven wasn't healing like she should have been. Her wounds had just barely scabbed over, and that was as far as they got. The bruising had only worsened, and the burns still looked fresh. And though Raven refused to let anyone else know, the burns felt fresh, too.

Raven hadn't managed to escape the nightmares like she had hoped. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw it. When she fell asleep, she saw her father. She no longer feared Trigon, but she did when she was younger. And the fear in her dreams felt just as real. But she never told her team. She could get through it on her own, just as she always had.

Even though her powers weren't working, Raven could still tell that her team was worrying over her. She tried to get them to stop worrying. How could they protect the city when they were too preoccupied with trying to care for her? Such emotions clouded one's ability to see the logic behind things.

Four of the titans sat in the common room. Beast Boy and Cyborg halfheartedly played their video games, Starfire wouldn't even touch the mustard, and Robin hadn't been able to stay in his office all week. It was a sad sight.

Suddenly, the TV changed channels, bringing up a picture of what looked like a storm.

"This is an emergency alert," the news reporter said. "The mayor has called for an evacuation of the city. An unidentified storm has begun directly over the city, and no one can anticipate the damage it could cause."

The titans stared at the picture of the storm, then all ran to the window.

The storm was huge, stretching over the entire city. Every few seconds they saw a flash of light, but there was no thunder. The clouds were spinning, and the closer to the eye the clouds were, the redder they appeared.

Everyone exchanged glances.

"This isn't a normal storm," Cyborg said, checking the readings on his arm.

"I could have told you that!" Beast Boy said.

"That's why they called it 'unidentified. We need to get out there and investigate," Robin said. "This can't be just a natural storm."

"But what if it is?" Starfire said. "I have seen storms such as this before. We must not fear, and help with the evacuation of the people."

Robin nodded. "Cyborg and I will go into the storm to get readings, Starfire and Beast Boy, you help out where ever you can."

The titans were about to split up, when a piercing scream rang out throughout the tower. They all looked at each other, alarm in their face, and ran to the infirmary at top speed.

"Raven!" Robin yelled when they entered the room. Raven screamed again. She was writhing on the cot, her back arched. Cyborg ran to the machines.

Raven was breathing heavily. All she felt was burning. Burning and the growling shaking her. She couldn't hear her teammates yelling, or feel the pinpricks of the needles. Just pain. Pain and fear.

Raven arched her back, and inhaled sharply. She froze, and everything seemed to go in slow motion. She fell back down on the cot. A single beeping noise filled the room. The flat line. Everyone was frozen. On her forehead, glowing red and plain as day, was the unmistakable mark of Trigon.

Everyone froze.

"No!" Robin yelled. As if on cue, Cyborg jumped back into action.

"Out of the way!" He said. "Clear!" he punched the shockers onto her chest. Her back arched, but the mocking straight beep didn't waver.

"Clear!" He tried again. Nothing. "Clear!" he yelled.

Raven opened her eyes to the unmistakable beauty that is the sunset of Azarath. She stared at it, captivated by it's beauty. Not even for a second did it occur to her that this wasn't possible. Azarath was nothing but ashes. But still, she watched the sunset, lying in her old bed from when she was much younger.

"Raven," a woman said. Raven turned.

"Arella," she whispered. "What are you doing here?"

Arella frowned slightly, placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "I could ask you the same question."

Raven blinked at her, then turned back to the sunset. "It's so beautiful…"

"No, don't looked at it," Arella warned. "You'll never want to leave here. You _must_ leave here."

"Why? I'm home now, aren't I?"

"Your home is with your friends. It's there that you belong, not here. You must go now, daughter. Just close your eyes."

Ravens shook her head. "Just a few more minutes."

"No! You must go now!" Arella looked upon the sunset, alarm in her eyes. She gave her daughter a sad look, then disappeared.

"Arella? Arella! Mom! Come back!" Raven called, sitting up on her bed. She looked back to the sunset, which had disappeared, being replaced by darkness. Raven stared at the pool of blackness right outside her window. Where was the sunset?

"It is gone, daughter!" a booming voice said.

"T-Trigon?"

He laughed. "Of course! Finally, you have come to permanently join my in the Otherworld!" he laughed again.

"No!" Raven said. "No, I don't want to!"

"Then close your eyes," something whispered.

"No!" Trigon yelled. Fire exploded from nowhere, filling the room. Raven couldn't close her eyes. All the red and blues and greens, and hundreds of other colors she'd never seen before, let alone in a flame, captivated her. She couldn't look away.

"Close you eyes!" The whisper demanded.

"No!" Trigon yelled. He appeared in front of her window. "You will stay here!"

Raven just stared at her father, unable to look away, unable to react. He appeared in front of her bed in human form, kneeling next to her. He grabbed her arm gently, smiling. Raven's eyes were wide, and she just stared at him.

"You don't want to go back there," he said. "Not now. Not when all of those traitors are about to spill onto your planet. You aren't safe there anymore. You aren't safe anywhere. Except with your father, of course."

The whisper returned, louder this time. "Close your eyes!"

This time, Raven obeyed.

Raven jolted forward, and the beeping sound from the monitor spiked. Everyone sighed in relief. The mark of Trigon had disappeared from Raven's forehead.

"Raven, are you alright? What happened?" Robin said.

Raven looked down. All she remembered was feeling some sort of jolt, and then she woke up on Azarath. "I don't know."

"It could be linked to the storm," Cyborg said. "We need to get out there to get some readings!"

Robin nodded. "Cyborg, Starfire, you come with me. Beast Boy, you stay here and keep an eye on Raven."

"I don't need to be babysat -"

"We don't have time for this. And we aren't taking any chances," Robin said, leaving the room. Cyborg and Starfire followed closely at his heels.

Raven sighed, and threw her head back down onto the pillow. She didn't need to be babysat, especially not by Beast Boy.

"So…how're you feeling?" Beast Boy said.

Raven stared at him incredulously. She just _died_. She felt tired, and weak, and most importantly, she did _not _fell like talking. Now she felt like sleeping. But she couldn't sleep. Everything would only get worse. No, now she had to think.

Who were the traitors? Demons gone rogue? Devils gone rogue? None of that made any sense. Demons and devils were simply rogue—

Raven's eyes widened as the thought dawned on her.

"Beast Boy, I need you to help me with something," Raven said.

"What is it?"

"Can you help me to me room?"

"But Raven, you shouldn't be moving around," Beast Boy said, concern clear in his voice.

"Move my bed if you need to! I just need to get to my room!" After a moment, Beast Boy nodded.

"Does this have something to do with the storm?"

Raven froze. "The storm? What storm?"

"The one Cyborg was talking about. It's the reason they left. No one knows what it is."

Raven jumped out of the cot before Beast Boy even finished the sentence. Her legs felt like Jell-o, and she fell before she could taken even two steps. Beast Boy caught her.

"Take me to the window!" she demanded. Beast Boy did as instructed. Once they got to the window, Raven pulled away from Beast Boy, using the ledge for support. She gasped.

She stared at the storm, unable to move. She'd seen this only once before in one of her father's books. Raven had an idea of what this meant, and hoped that she was wrong. She hoped that she was way off. Because if she was right…

"Raven?" Beast Boy squeaked.

Startled out of her stupor, she looked at him. The alarm was clear in her eyes. But the second she had looked away from the storm, her legs went from feeling like Jell-o, to something more like wet noodles.

"This has everything to do with the storm."

This was all she was able to say before collapsing.

**This is a bit lengthy. Sorry bout that. It seems like I have absolutely no idea how to continue. So if anyone reading this has any ideas, please share. =] since I don't know how to pull the story into the next part, I'll do hat I always do; start a new one! If any of you have read Midnight Flight or When the Titans go to Hogwarts I'll try to get up a sequel/ update ASAP.**


	6. Chapter 5: The Circle

Thank so much to Birdofdarkness for helping me get inspiration to continue this story! You help a lot! And sorry I waited so long to update! Anyways, chapter 5!

5: The Circle

Raven sat up quickly, taking a deep intake of breath. The first thing she noticed was that she was alone. _No, not now, _she thought.

"Beast Boy?" she called. "Robin?"

She was met with silence. _They must be having a meeting…_Raven thought, thought she knew that wouldn't be the case. They would have waited for her to wake up. They don't know anything. Right?

Something just wasn't quite right about the situation. Beast Boy, at least, would have stayed here waiting for her to wake up. _No, he wouldn't. He hates you._

Raven jumped slightly, looking around. That thought was not her own. That was when she started noticing other things, little things.

The window. There was no window in this room. The chair in the corner was gone. The walls were sea green rather than their usual white. Everything else was exactly the same. But this wasn't the same room. This couldn't have been the same room. Was she even still in the tower?

There was a sound, like the sound that's made when a large book is dropped in the ground or slammed on a table, and a figure appeared before Raven. He was tall, clad in dark robes. Raven drew back, squishing herself against the back of the cot.

"Princess," he said.

"Where am I?" Raven demanded.

"The same place you were ten minutes ago."

Raven narrowed her eyes. "Where was I ten minutes ago?"

"So many questions. Do not worry, we cannot take you home against your will yet."

Raven let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She relaxed slightly, not wanting to let this man think he'd scared her.

"I am here simply to give you a message." He paused, looking to Raven as if for permission.

"Go ahead."

"You have been given an order issued by Lady Persephone."

"Persephone?" Raven asked.

"Yes, when you defeated your father you surpassed him for the throne of your bloodline. And after he was out of the Circle, Lady Persephone took charge."

Raven's eyes widened, but she wasn't about to waste her breath telling this man that she didn't want it. So instead, she said, "Why not Paymon?"

The man smiled, like he was laughing at some inside joke. "He was also surpassed for the throne. But Lord Paymon has managed to hold on to his power. A few years before he was out of the Circle, he married Lady Persephone."

Raven blinked. Paymon and Persephone were technically siblings. But that little detail never seemed to stop demons before. Having realized she'd gotten off track, inquired into to lives of her demon relatives, and shown a hint that she actually cared about what was going on with them, Raven let her face go blank again.

"The message?"

"Ah, yes. You are to return to the Otherworld immediately. Now that you are part of the Circle, you must take your spot and help with planning before the war begins. Persephone feels that to start, you should only be part of the plan for keeping the residence of the Otherworld safe. She feels that's what you would be most comfortable doing. After the start of the war, though, you must step up and join the ranks."

"And if I refuse?"

"We'll give you an even better reason than responsibility to take your place."

A better reason? That could mean anything from Persephone visiting herself, to…Raven didn't even want to think about it. But Persephone was gentler than most demons. In fact, she was gentler than most angels. At least she was ten years ago…but Paymon…he was a devil. And if he ruling through Persephone that could mean anything.

"What about my friends?" Raven said, hoping then he might let something slip about what that 'better reason' might be.

"You really think these people are your friends?"

Raven glared at him. "I already had this discussion with my father."

He bowed slightly. "My apoligies Princess. And they will be unharmed as long as you order it. But only after you take your responsibilities."

Raven looked down. The last time she'd gone let the demons take her to keep her friends safe, they'd been mad. _Really_ mad. But she knew better now. Now she had to tell them what was happening. She had to let them do everything they could to stop it.

But everything wouldn't be enough this time. Not to stop an eternal war.

"I will let your body heal now. You have a week until you need to make your decision. Well, after you wake up, you'll have about four days. See you soon, Princess."

And with that, he disappeared, leaving Raven alone once again.

As the darkness swelling, she couldn't help but surrender to her unconscious healing state.

A group of hooded figures stood in a perfect circle, all silent. Not one of them moved or spoke. It was dark where they were, the only light coming from a small candle right in the middle of their circle. They stood in the one part of the city they titans had failed to check: underground. Directly above them, through all the dirt, the subways, the foundation, a storm raged on.

Another hooded figure entered the room. It stood right outside the circle, waiting to be addressed.

Finally, a woman spoke. "Well?" she said, her voice high pitched and scratchy.

The newest figure kneeled. "The girl has received her summons."

"Good, good," the woman said. "And the boys?"

"Trigon only asked for the girl. The others do not matter," a man said, his voice more of a hiss than anything else.

"You speak for Lord Trigon and no one else," a woman said, her voice clear and powerful. "If not for him you would not even be here. Traitorous fool. If you had paid me any attention at all, you would know that Lord Paymon asked for the boys. And Lord Paymon outranks Lord Trigon, even if neither are allowed to be part of the Circle."

"My mistake," he hissed, bowing slightly.

"The boys?" the first woman demanded.

"They have their messages."

She nodded slowly. "Good. Soon, they will all come back home, safe and sound."

"If it weren't for those damned angels we wouldn't need to worry of their safety," the other woman said.

"Be calm Persephone. Their instincts will lead them together."

"Calm? How can I be calm? What if the angels get to them? For all we know they could have already!"

"They should have no problems with those pesky things. _They_ broke the treaty. They cannot attack now until we make the first move. And that does not happen until the children are safely home. Now, we need to keep the portal open. You must crush your worries now, Persephone. Do not forget you are the soul of this portal."

"I have not," Persephone said. "But if I find that one of you have put the safety of my niece and nephews at risk, it will be your soul." She looked around, catching each person's gaze with her own icy stare.

The group stood in silence once more, letting her words sink in with some of the less trust worthy. They shifted their focus back to the dancing firelight of the candle, and again, they waited.

**Tell me what you think?**


	7. Chapter 6: Angel

**Thank you for reviewers on the last chapter!**

6: Angel

Nearly every major city in the world had turned into a ghost town. Gotham, London, New York, Beijing, Tokyo, Metropolis, Moscow—all of them had been almost completely evacuated, the storms growing and swirling above them. Forecasters, scientists—everyone was trying to figure out what was happening, what this worldwide phenomena was.

There was one city, not a real major city, but the home of the Titans, Jump City. The storm raged above it. The one person who knew what was happening was in a healing induced coma.

The Titans had returned home the previous day to an unconscious Raven, and a rather distressed Beast Boy. All of them were distressed, in fact.

Cyborg and Robin had successfully gotten readings from the storm. The results? According to his readings, it wasn't a storm at all. It was something much closer to a black hole or a wormhole. Whether it was for something to go in, or someone to come out, no one was sure.

They had a guess, though, that what ever was happening, it was bad. Really bad.

A girl walked through the streets of jump city. She was alone. She was tall, blonde, and dressed in a simple sweatshirt and jeans with converse. She wore a pink and white striped beanie, with matching fingerless gloves. She walked alone through the ghost town that had been a bustling city only the day before. She looked around, as if ready for someone—or something—to jump out at her at any moment.

She was trying to get to the bay, and from there, Titans Tower. Finding the bay seemed to be the problem. From where she was coming from, a hole in the wall tucked in the corner of one of the many backstreets of this city; she had yet to find the main drag that would take her straight to the bay. Somehow, she had managed to turn herself around again and again, and now had no idea if she was even walking in the right direction.

Getting to the tower was important. She had to help the Titans so they could help her. She had read in the paper about Raven getting attacked by the giant dog. Well, that article had mostly been about the titans defeating yet another monster, but raven getting attacked was mentioned at least once. This girl wasn't stupid; she knew what had attacked Raven. If Raven had gone into her healing state before she realized what was going on, then she had to get to the Titans and tell them before it was too late.

She'd never actually met Raven, and she wasn't stalking her or anything creepy like that. Her brothers had told her about Raven's healing state. And they also told her they had at least a day before Raven would wake up. And then only a couple days after that to figure everything out.

So, in an attempt to buy some time, she had managed to get completely lost. She wished they'd have just gone to the tower yesterday. But apparently there are much more important things to do than try to stop humanity—at least what's left of them after the inevitable first blast of the war—from being sent to the Otherworld for 'protection' as a massive war destroyed the planet. Maybe, they could get enough time to warn people to go underground for the remainder of the week.

She stopped at another four-way intersection, looking around and throwing her hands in the air with exasperation. How had she managed to walk to the same intersection for the third time when she'd been walking in a straight line? She'd even taken different streets the other times! She yelled and kicked the 'walk' sign. She squeaked, holding her foot and hopping around as the pole fell over.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch! Crab cakes! Why did I do that?" She sighed, and looked around, glad that know one had actually been here to see her destroy public property.

At this intersection she'd been too three times now…she spun around, searching for something—or more likely, someone who could have been causing this.

"Well, it looks like my little game is over," a man said.

She spun around, taking a step back in the same move. "P-paymon," she squeaked.

"Who were you expecting?"

She stayed silent, just staring at him.

"Angel my dear, what seems to be bothering you?" Paymon asked with mock concern.

"N-nothing," the girl, Angel, said. "I was, I was j-just trying to get to the main road."

"Haven't you heard? This town has been evacuated."

"Y-yes, but-"

"But nothing. You don't need to worry your mother and father like that. Why don't you scurry on back inside and go get your brothers for me."

"It's S-Sunday."

"Then wake them up," Paymon said, glaring at her. Angel flinched.

"If I wake they up, they, they'll probably just beat the crap out of you. Like last time."

He grimaced at her. "Fine, have it your way. I was only trying to help."

Angel wondered how he could ever think that they needed or wanted his help in any way. He was evil. And constantly abusing her entire family, still convinced he held power over them. And only power he really held over that family was causing Angel to start stammering. And placing her in any sort of stressful situation could do that.

"Maybe let them know that when they don't come home, you'll be the one I use to get them."

"H-home is with family. You aren't family."

"Listen here, girl," Paymon snarled. "If it weren't for me you're 'family' would have fallen apart years ago."

She blinked at him. "What did you do for us?" she demanded, suddenly finding her voice. "You're the reason Christian didn't say a single word to anyone for two years. You're the reason mom used to be so scared all the time. In fact, your probably the reason for this whole stupid war!"

He glared at her. "You know as well as I do that it was one of those Grigory!"

"Do I? Why are you even here?" with that, she turned down an alleyway and started walking away. Suddenly, a loud growl ripped through the silence. She turned back, startled out of her anger.

Standing next to Paymon were four or five fully grown hellhounds. Angel just stared.

"I'm here to raise Mayhem. Maybe we can start this thing with the tragic murder of an unsuspecting girl."

Angel screamed, and ran a top speed (which was well over the legal speed limit) in a random direction, the snarling following her all the way.

She took random turns, jumping over or dodging attacks by the hellhounds.

Somehow, and she's not sure how this happened, she got to the main drag. The tower was well in her sights, and she ran for it, getting to the water with the hellhounds right on her tail. Without hesitation, she jumped in. The waves swirled and twisted around her, and she stood on the water, moving forward.

She glanced over her shoulder, and noticed the hounds had stopped. With a wave of her arms, she sent a wave flying straight for them. They whimpered and scurried away. And nodded to herself, and turned back towards the tower, riding her waves all the way to the island. Now that the easy part was over, she just needed a way to explain everything that was happening. Sighing, she walked up to the door and knocked.

Not my favorite chapter, but I needed to introduce this character, and I figured it would be an all right spot to show a little bit of Paymon. And I didn't have much to write about with the titans, seeing as they know nothing, and Raven is unconscious.

**Anyways, tell me what you think, please. It's much appreciated. **


	8. Chapter 7: According to Plan

Heh heh…so those of you coming in and saying "I definitely read chapter 7 already and this definitely wasn't it" I decided to change things up a bit. I didn't like the first version of chapter 7, so I replaced it with this. And it's completely different than the last chapter 7. anyways, read on!

7: According to Plan

Paymon watched from the edge of the shore, chuckling to himself. He knew that she would be able to evade the hellhounds. She had countless times before. He wasn't planning on hurting her. No, he needed her brothers too much. Paymon would not risk losing them completely just to get rid of the annoying pest of a girl. Besides, she had become part of the plan. And the plan was so important to him.

He'd spent years planning, and even longer carrying out the plan. Seventeen years to be exact. It all started with finding a woman. A strong, beautiful woman. One who didn't know her own beauty. A woman with values. One who would be a mother. And he found her. The Woman was Rose Cappuccino. And he'd gotten her. Her turned her into a monster. Not her personality, no she remained annoyingly kind. But she did acquire a new set of skills and thirsts. Things that normal humans condemn. He tricked her. And soon she was carrying his future children. It was pure luck that they were boys.

The next part of the plan was to leave her. Leave his woman before she even knew she was pregnant. He didn't want to. Not because of some sort of urge to be a father, not at all. He'd grown quite fond of Rose. But even such a beauty could not rip him from his plan. Even with her natural black hair, her warm brown eyes, her full lips, her mysterious smile, her subtle curves…no, even she could not stop him.

And so he left her. He left he and tended to other matters, as the next phase of the plan could not have begun for six more years. He stayed quiet in the Otherworld. He didn't even tell his brother his plans. Trigon had an ego, and somebody needed to stroke it. For the time being, that person had to be Paymon.

The years went by dully and slowly, but finally, the day arrived when he was to reclaim his sons. They wouldn't want to listen to him. That's what he was counting on. It was all part of the plan. Rose couldn't stop him from taking his sons. It was a rule that all beings bred from beings of the Otherworld had to spend at least a year with their father. Otherwise, they stayed with their mother, unless their mother did not want them. It was how things worked.

Paymon left the Otherworld. He visited his beautiful Rose. Her new name was Rose Macbeth. She had married a human. Even had a child with him. A girl named Angel. Paymon's sons called the human dad. It was disgusting. It took him longer than expected, but finally he was able to return to the Otherworld with his sons. He was not shocked to see that Trigon's daughter was there as well. She bore a striking resemblance to her mother. Though, he wasn't quite sure how her hair and eyes had turned out purple. He had noted with distaste that his sons also looked a lot like their mother. Just with red eyes, fangs, and tails.

This part of the plan was simple. All he had to do was make sure his sons hated him. The quiet one, Christian, was constantly left in the pit. Paymon sensed the darkness in him, and he intended to bring it out when darkness was born. Jacob was the protective older brother. He was loud and it seemed that DNA had done something weird to his powers. Nevertheless, he thought like a demon should think in many regards. So Paymon kept him close. But he made him watch his younger brother be treated poorly. Jacob was the protective type, and though he was only a few minutes older than Christian, he would rather take the punishments Christian received for being a nuisance,

Slowly, the plan had started to evolve into something bigger, something better. Somehow, Raven had become the center. It was through her that the plan would really begin to go into action. Starting when she defeated her father. Paymon knew she would. Mixing blood was a dangerous thing. Something he toyed with, himself. But he could see she had drive, and someday, she would have reason. Once Trigon was defeated, he would take charge while they waited for Raven to turn twenty-five so she could rule.

But Raven could not take charge, that part was for certain. While Paymon ruled, he planned to do the unthinkable. And he did. He spread rumors that the demons were planning on attacking the angels for power. He let the gods, the angels, all of them believe war was afoot. And he courted a woman. The only woman fit to be his queen besides Rose. Persephone. True, she was his sister. But not by blood. Her true blood was demi-god. She had been tricked, tainted by a devil. The gods rejected her, so the demons welcomed her. A woman broken from betrayal and the loss of her son. Her son who was stricken mute by an abusive human father and killed in spite after he killed his father. Paymon took her, and actually become fond of her. Though she was nothing in comparison to his Rose…

Next, he simply had to wait for his sons to be able to fairly defeat him. He didn't know how long it would take. But luck was with him, because he was defeated shortly after the boys turned sixteen. And all he had to do was provoke them with their annoying half-sister. They were protective of her. He didn't let them win. In fact, they beat him earlier than he would have liked. But things just went faster from then.

Soon Persephone had taken power of the circle. He didn't rule through her, no, that wasn't the plan. He had to wait in the shadows until it happened. What he'd been expecting to happen. The angels got scared. The angels got paranoid. The angels broke the treaty. Everything was going according to plan.

And now, he had pushed Angel to Raven. He knew his sons would not be far behind. They never sent Angel alone anywhere. So he stood by the shore, waiting, entertaining himself with the chaos of the city.

The hellhounds were running. The city was burning. And soon, everything would really begin.

Like? Dislike? Tell me about it! =)

**Also, please check out my deviantart page. If you have one a watch or fav is much appreciated! If you don't, well you should check it out anyways!**


	9. Chapter 8: Things Start to Look Up

I'd like to send a very huge and special thanks to Birdofdarkness for helping me with my writers block on this story. =) Read on!

8: Things Start to Look Up

Raven waited. Alone in the darkness. A warm sensation filled her body, moving through her, filling her. The healing state. She couldn't move. She really didn't want to. She was much too comfortable, but really couldn't do anything if she wanted to. She just waited.

_I don't have time for this…_she thought, too dazed to remember exactly what she was supposed to be doing at the moment. She just knew she didn't have time to fully heal before…before something bad happened. She couldn't remember what.

Distantly, she heard a voice. She couldn't place it. It was too quiet, too far away. She dismissed it. Staring distantly into the darkness.

She heard the voice again, this time it was louder. A boy. Robin?

"…Otherworld…apocalypse…" that's all she could make out. His voice was tuning in and out. _What is he talking about?_ She thought to herself. _How does he know about the Otherworld?_

"…Any way…stop it…"

_Stop what? What's going on?_

Raven tried to move, she couldn't. She was supposed to be doing something. Something important. She had to…she had to…well she didn't know what she had to do, but she knew it was important.

"War…stop it…"

Everything came rushing back to her. She had to stop the war! She had to warn them! She tried to stand. She couldn't move.

_I don't have time for this…_she tried again, and again. Why didn't she ever tell them how to coax her out of a healing state in case of emergency? _Oh, right, _she thought, _because I'm stupid. _

She was stuck.

"…Raven…"

She looked up. Were they talking about her? Was there something wrong?

The comfortable warmth started heating up. Burning. She wanted to cry out, at least be able to curl into herself. She couldn't move. She couldn't do anything. _I'm useless…a liability again…_

It burned. It burned so bad. This had never happened before. Never in the healing state. Everything started getting darker. She couldn't move. She cried out as the burning escalated. But everything remained silent.

The darkness closed in…the burning became worse still…

The Titans had anxiously been waiting for Raven to come out of her healing state. They watched her in shifts, making sure that she was being watched every second of the day. Nobody took more shifts than Beast Boy did.

And then that girl showed up. The Titans were wary of this girl at first. But she claimed to have information, and they had to take any lead they had. No matter how out- there it seemed.

For the past two days they had been watching their city burn and they couldn't do a thing about it. The day that Angel showed up was they day that the fires started. They tried to put them out but nothing worked.

"It's not your fault," Angel had told them. "It's hell fire. No one can put it out."

Still, they researched, the studied, they even contacted the Justice League (who were proving to be extremely unhelpful). No hit, no leads. Nothing matched. They couldn't even find a single document to prove what Angel said was true. Unless they wanted to look through the Bible or something. She'd said that the apocalypse was coming. That the storm was actually a portal. They already knew about the portal thing, but the apocalypse? They were definitely missing an important piece of information. Of course, Angel claimed she was also missing that information. In the end, the Titans came up with a whole load of nothing.

Just to be sure, they decided to keep Angel around. But she had to have a Titan with her at all times. It ended up with Starfire and Beast Boy watching her the most. She'd actually made fast friends (sort of) with both of them. Cyborg had warmed up to her and Robin was coming around. Not like she was planning to stay forever, she just really liked knowing people, it that makes sense.

It was about three in the morning. It was Beast Boy's shift to watch Raven. Naturally, Angel sat with him. She watched in wonder as he just sat there, staring at her. She'd never met Raven personally. She'd met Paymon, she even met Trigon once before. But never Raven. She'd read about her in the newspaper, and even seen her on TV. She didn't know why her brothers never wanted to visit her. From how she imagined Raven, though, she seemed like a great person. Sometimes cynical, maybe a little bit shy. Powerful in every aspect, but also reserved. Born of evil, but she wanted nothing more than to be good.

She watched Beast Boy looking at her, and she could tell he thought she was a great person too.

"So…" Angel started awkwardly. "You really like her, huh?"

Beast Boy jumped, spinning around to stare at her.

"No! I mean, yeah. Like, as a friends and stuff, but…but…where did you get that idea?"

"Just how you look at her," Angel said, shrinking back slightly. "I really don't have experience with that at all…I just…I know the look." She offered him an unsure smile.

"Well…I mean, Raven's great and all but…"

"But what?"

Beast Boy looked like he was going to choke on something. Lucky for him, Raven chose that exact moment to wake up.

It was short, I know. The next one should be longer, but I make no promises. Please R&R! I don't know if you like it or if I completely butchered grammar/spelling if people don't tell me about it. I'm not _that_ Jedi. Hehe.


	10. Chapter 9: Move Out

**Sorry I haven't updated in like…two months. Haha. Anyways…read on =)**

9: Move Out

_The darkness closed in…the burning became worse still…_

In a burst of strength, Raven pushed forward. She tore through the darkness with only one goal in mind.

_I have to wake up,_ she thought, desperately. _I have to warn them!_

A blurry brightness assaulted her vision. She blinked, trying to make sense of what was going on. The blurry brightness dulled and Raven could start making out shapes, figures.

She tried to speak, but she suddenly felt very tired, weak.

"Raven?" Beast Boy said. She blinked a few times, looking up at him, eyes glazed.

"Beast Boy?"

"Raven!" he turned to Angel. "Stay here, I'm going to go find the others." With that, he ran from the room, yelling for the others all the way.

Raven blinked a few times, looking around. Her eyes fell on Angel and she tensed. She sat up quickly, suddenly alert.

"Who are you?" She demanded. Angel looked around nervously.

"I…uh…I'm Angel. I, uh, I came here to help."

Raven studied her. There was something eerily familiar about her. Angel shrank under her gaze.

"I was just telling them about what the storm really was, and what was happening…and stuff. Since you were unconscious…"

Raven continued starting at her. "How do you know about the storm?"

"Well, my brothers and their…" Angel grimaced. "My brothers and Paymon told me about it."

"Paymon told you about it? Your brothers?"

"Yes, uh, Jacob and Christian. You know them."

Angel stared at Raven apprehensively, praying to whoever happened to be up there that Raven didn't lose all her memories.

"Are…are they here?"

Angel shook her head. "I don't know where they are actually. They were supposed to show up a couple days ago. I went earlier because I knew it couldn't wait and it was Sunday and they are always asleep all day on Sundays but they never came and now I don't know what happened and I'm starting to get worried and-" She stopped herself, taking a deep breath.

"Sorry."

"It's fine," Raven said.

Beast Boy, followed by the rest of the Titans, rushed into the room, crowding around Raven. Angel slipped out of the way just in time.

"Hey, hey! Give her some space!" Cyborg said. He was ignored. "HEY! GIVE THE GIRL SOME SPACE!"

They all quieted down and stepped back slightly.

"How are you doing?" Robin said.

"I'm fine." Raven swung her legs over the edge of the bed. "Don't worry about me. We have a lot to do."

"Are you sure you will be okay?" Starfire asked. Raven nodded, and then turned to Angel.

"What have you told them?"

The Titans, plus Angel, sat around the huge table in the conference room.

"We need to issue a warning," Raven said. "Everyone needs to get underground. Those who survive the first blast with be taken back to the Otherworld for safety. At least the ones that the angels find will be taken there for safety."

"Raven," Robin cut in. "We need to find a way to stop it from even happening. Do you have any ideas on how to do that?"

Raven glanced at Angel, who shook her head.

"I don't know if there is a way to stop it," Raven said. "We shouldn't waste our time with something that just can't happen. We only have a couple of days. We should just focus on keeping people alive." She looked at Robin, waiting to see if he would argue. He frowned, but stayed quiet.

"Now, we need to contact the Justice league. Portals should be opening all over the universe. We need to issue the warnings. They'll only take the humans to the otherworld, because it's this planet that they intend to fight on."

"Why here?" Starfire asked.

"This was the first planet," Raven said. "It's the oldest one in the universe that has life left on it."

"And it was the angels that declared war," Angel said tentatively. "The Grigory, actually. So the demons get to chose the venue."

"Why would the angels declare war?" Beast Boy said. "Aren't they supposed to be, like, all about peace and stuff?"

Raven shook her head. "I have no idea." She turned to Angel, who shrugged.

"It probably had something to do with Paymon though…"

"Who is this Paymon guy?" Cyborg said.

"Trigon's brother," Raven said. "He is much quieter about his conquests."

Angel frowned. "He's insane, and arrogant. We recently found that his biggest weakness is his jealousy of Trigon. Closely followed by his obsession with my mom, and his hatred for my dad."

"We?" Robin said.

"My brothers and I."

"How could we use that?" Robin was beginning to formulate plans in his head. If Paymon is the reason for the war, couldn't they stop it by defeating Paymon?

"Well, um…tell him that Trigon is a lot harder to fight than he is. Tell him how much my mom hates him. Or if my brothers were here, they just call my dad dad. That really gets to him."

"Her bothers are biologically Paymon's sons."

Robin nodded. "If Paymon is the reason for this war, then couldn't we stop it if we took him down?"

Raven shook her head. "It doesn't work like that. Odds are, if he even is behind this, nobody knows about it."

"And," Angel said. "He's already been defeat once. Doing it again won't do anything."

There was a loud noise, as if something had exploded. Everyone in the room jumped up, staring at the window. Buildings were falling down left and right. There was another explosion. Fire lit up the darkened sky.

"What the hell…" Cyborg said.

"We need to get down there!" Robin said. "Beast Boy, take Angel down to-"

"No," Angel cut it. This was the first time any of them had seen her look so confident. "I can help."

"Fine. Titans, move out!"

**I got like…0 reviews last chapter. This saddened me greatly. So please, please, **_**please**_** review. I would really like feedback on this. And I really want to know what you guys think. It really means a lot to me. Thanks for reading. =)**


	11. Chapter 10: The City is Burning

Please don't hurt me…I'll even post two chapters this time (since this one's pretty short). Sorry again…uh…read on!

10: The City is Burning

The Titans had rushed into the city. Raven had found quickly that her powers, though weak, had returned. They moved through the city, trying to ignore the chaos around them. What had once been their city was now nothing more than a shantytown. Everything lied in ruins. And what hadn't collapsed yet was still burning.

They looked into the sky to see the storm – the portal – spinning quickly as ever. But none of this seemed to be coming from the storm. All there was was a darkness creeping around the edges, crawling across the sky. Not dark blue, like the night sky. A deep, dead black.

Raven tore her vision away from the sky as an all too familiar presence crowded her thoughts.

_Hellhounds._

They heard the howling, the growling, the barking. She couldn't see the dogs, but she knew they were everywhere. A sense of dread filled Raven and she slowed down, eventually coming to a completely stop. She could feel them running, the hounds. She could almost picture as they toppled over buildings, set fire to the city.

The Titans were too caught up in everything to notice Raven, and they kept pushing forward. It was Beast Boy who stopped, looking around like crazy to find her. It only took him a second to spot her. He turned, running back to her.

"Raven," he said. She didn't answer, just stared. "Raven!"

Her gaze snapped to Beast Boy.

"Come on, Rae. We have to keep going."

Raven started shaking her head. "I don't…"

"Raven, as long as I've known you, you've proven you can do anything. Just come on."

Raven stared at him. Still, all she felt was dread, fear. Somewhere, she knew that it was only the hounds messing with her mind. But their influence was great, and she didn't want to take a step forward.

She didn't have a choice though, because Beast Boy grabbed her hand and started running.

Fire rose again, lighting up the sky, and causing the storm to appear to be burning.

A loud cackling sounded above all the growling and howling and all the explosions. Raven couldn't feel anything above the fear. She looked around desperately trying to locate the hound that was near enough to influence her. Again, she was distracted by the cackling.

Angel grimaced. "Paymon," she said. Robin nodded, and followed Angel as she turned down another street. This time, she knew exactly where to go.

All the Titans froze. A Hellhound stood directly in their path. Crouched down low, growling at them.

"Hold on," Angel said as Robin started reaching for his discs. "I think this one's on our side."  
"You think?" Robin said. Raven still looked around. This wasn't the hound that concerned her. Angel took a cautious step forward, and the beast perked up slightly.

"Meg?" She said. She beast stepped forward, yelping happily.

"How is it that you get one of those things on our side?" Cyborg said.

"It's a long story. And not important right now." She turned away from the dog. "Come on, she can lead us to him!"

The hound turned, running down the street. The Titans followed.

"Starfire! Fly up and see if you can see what's going on!"

Starfire nodded.

They all kept running. Raven starting feeling more and more like herself as they neared the battle scene. For some reason or another, the hound had not decided to keep following them.

Starfire floated back down. All the Titans stopped as more fire exploded from somewhere very near to them. Cyborg grabbed Angels arm as she tried to keep running. They still couldn't see the source, but they had a feeling it was right around the corner.

"It is a man and two teenaged boys. The fire is coming from one of the boys. The man is using those creatures against them."

"The boys are on our side!" Angel said, still struggling against Cyborg's grip. "Let me go I have to help!"

"Wait," Robin said. "If we go in with out a plan-"

"If we go in with a plan he'll destroy us!" Angel said. "Let me go!"

Robin glared at her. Of all times, now she chose not to cooperate.

"Wait," Raven said, speaking up for the first time. Everyone turned to her. She flushed slightly, pulling her hand from Beast Boy's. "She's right. Paymon won't have a plan of action. Odds are, he's listening to us trying to come up with one right now."

"Right, let _go!_" Angel said. She broke out of Cyborg's grip and ran, her hound right on her heel.

"We at least need a strategy," Robin said.

"Avoid the fire. Attack the man," Raven said.

Slowly, all the Titans nodded.

Robin looked around. "Ready?" they nodded. "Titans, go!"

Paymon laughed evilly, watching the fight unfold before him. All he had to do was send in the hellhounds. Though, he'd forgotten about his son's odd control over them. Yet, watching that made the fight even more enjoyable. Especially how his older son was nearly ready to explode, sending fire so high in the sky it made Paymon proud.

Though his fun nearly ended when that annoying girl ran in to join the fight. He never understood why they liked her so much. She was intolerable. Her mere presence made him angry. So he sent in more hellhounds. Maybe watching her die would make all of it fun again.

But then things started to get interesting. Because the Teen Titans, the very people who had defeated Trigon ran in to join the battle. And among them was Raven. He laughed to himself again. Oh, now the games would really begin.

**Okay, I could have continued it there, but then the chapter would have been LONG so I cut it here. PLEASE review…I only got one last time. Though it was motivating, and it did warm my heart, lack of reviews make me less inclined to update…and makes me unsure if anyone actually likes it. So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!**


	12. Chapter 11: The Hounds

**I got a pretty decent response on my last chapter. I only got three reviews, but they were so nice and made me so happy, I just couldn't resist updating!**

**Scarlet Phoenix Roth: Thank you so much! Your review made me smile. =) **

**BBsevolEAR: thanks for fave! And thanks for the review. Again, it made me smile =) I'm glad you enjoy it. **

**FelynxTiger: Thank you. And I'm glad you like the little moments with BB and Rae. More to come…=)**

**Now, without further ado, I give you chapter 11! **

Chapter 11: The Hounds

_Robin looked around. "Ready?" they nodded. "Titans, go!"_

The Titans ran into the battle, soon realizing that any plan they could have made wouldn't have worked. What they had run into wasn't so much a battle, as it was chaos in its most destructive form. Smoke and debris were flying through the air, dark shadows flickering, disappearing, and reappearing. They heard buildings falling, bones snapping, hounds howling and whining, growling and barking. And yelling, but everything else was too loud for anyone to make out what was being said.

They stayed close to each other, moving slowly. Another building went down, dust and debris flew all around them, making it ever harder to see. They almost felt the heat of fire, exploding out from somewhere in front of them.

Beast Boy froze, going rigid.

"Guys…" he squeaked.

No one heard him. They just kept moving forward, trying to find the battle. But it had found them.

Robin was tossed back as a hound emerged from the shadows. He landed on his feet glaring at it. And so the battle began. Hounds were appearing form all over the place, all around them, jumping, tearing, attacking. There were so many of them, it seemed each time they took one down, three more appeared in its place.

These hounds were fierce, much more so than the one they had battled before. The Titans were losing. Robin was putting dents in them with his explosives. Cyborg was clearing them out with his sonic canon, and getting in a lot of hits on top of that. Starfire was fierce as always, shooting and hitting the beast with everything she had. Beast Boy was rapidly changing forms, keeping them all off of him. Raven was using her fear to her advantage, tossing the hellhounds around like ragdolls. Somehow, it wasn't enough.

"We're losing this!" Cyborg yelled, taking down another ten or so hounds with his canon.

"Keep fighting! It's not over yet!" Robin called out, stabbing one of the hounds with his Bo staff.

A blonde girl came flying out of the shadows, following by another twenty or so hounds. Angel stood up quickly, clutching her side. She used her other arm, pulling water from a container attached to her side and using it to cut the hounds as fast as she could.

But still, it wasn't enough.

"Beast Boy!" Raven yelled. "You need to use the Beast!"

"But –"

"We're losing here, man!" Cyborg said. "Just do it!"

Another explosion rang out; more debris flew all around them. The hellhounds took in the Titans momentary distraction, quickly gaining even more of an upper hand. Cyborg was wrestling with a hound for his right arm. Starfire was just gone, trapped somewhere in the debris and darkness.

Raven froze as she felt a warm breath on the back of her neck. The sharp whiskers cutting into her skin. She couldn't hear anymore, consumed only by her fear. Everything started happening in slow motion. Just like that night all those years ago, she turned around slowly, letting the hound's whiskers cut into her skin. It smiled at her.

She shut her eyes tight, waiting for the pain. But…it never came. She opened her eyes just as Beast Boy, now in the form of the Beast, wrestled the hound into the darkness. Another explosion sounded, this time closer, effectively pulling Raven back into the real world.

Angel was thrown to the ground yet again, flying right past Raven. This time she didn't get up. Raven ran to her side, putting up a shield around them both. Angel coughed, looking around, dizzy.

"Raven?" she said.

There was a hard slam on Raven's shield, making a bit crack right in the side.

"Angel you need to get up," Raven said. There was another slam on her shield. Angel coughed again, nodding.

There was another slam on the shield, and it shattered. Raven tried helping Angel up but they were tackled down but another hound. Raven reacted quickly, using her powers to lift a large piece of concrete and slam it against the hound. Raven stood back up, pulling Angel with her. She could hear all the yelling between the Titans as she tried moving forward, tried to get back with the rest of them. Nothing was working. Everything she pushed them away, threw them aside, or otherwise hurt the monsters, more appeared from the shadows, ready to attack.

It didn't take long for Raven and Angel to be surrounded by the hounds, all of them closing in slowly, growling and spitting. Angel was too out of it to react. Raven was on her own, and she was barely strong enough to stand, let alone hold Angel up.

Another explosion sounded, this time so close Raven and Angel were knocked of their feet. Raven landed on her back, knocking all of the air out of her lungs. Angel rolled to the side, now completely unconscious. Raven couldn't even cry out as a hound went for Angel, couldn't even react.

But then, all the hounds froze, staring at one spot. They started growling louder, backing away, and then running back into the shadows. Out of the corner of her eye, Raven saw the shadows begin to shift. She blinked, struggling with her consciousness. She took a deep breath as soon as she could; looking around to make sure Angel was alright.

Angel had been moved right next to her, as was being held by a dark haired teen with blood red eye. Raven recognized him immediately.

"Christian?" she said. He nodded. Raven sat up slowly, looking around. Everything was quiet.

Slowly, Angel blinked awake, looking around groggily.

"Christian? Where have you been?" he didn't say anything, just helped her stand. He didn't seem to care, or really notice, that Angel had attached herself to his arm as if her life depended on it. He offered Raven a hand, which she took. Once she was standing, she looked around again. Everything was quiet, but and eerie sort of quiet.

"What's going on?" Raven said.

"Paymon left," Christian said quietly.

"Jacob set him on fire again?" Angel said, giggling. Raven just looked around again. She still could barely see. She turned back to Christian and Angel.

"It's been too long," Raven said to Christian. "And thank you."

He just shrugged, offering her a meek smile.

Raven looked around again, this time searching for her friends. She couldn't see anyone. She couldn't hear anyone either. All of it happened so fast; it was over sooner than she thought it would be. She searched her mind, trying to remember where everyone had been when they had first joined the fight.

"We need to find everyone else," Angel said. "I think they're that way." She pointed off to her right. Raven thought that that may have been the direction that Angel came from when the hounds had tossed her. But she couldn't be sure.

They started walking. Raven looked around, trying to see someone. She started preparing for the worst. What if Paymon had taken them? Or worse, what if they were dead?

All of her worries melted as she saw Starfire's bright red hair. She grabbed Christian's arm, pulling him and Angel along behind her as she ran to her friends.

"Is everyone alright?" she said.

"Those freaking dogs took my arm!" Cyborg fumed. "Damn dogs…lucky I have spares…"

"Just some bruising, but I'll be find," Robin said, sending her a reassuring smile.

Starfire, looked relatively unscathed, but didn't answer, as she was deep in conversation with another dark haired teen. Jacob.

"Hey!" Angel announced. "Guys. This is Christian. He's my brother."

Starfire looked up, floating over to them. "Raven! Angel! You are unharmed?"

Raven just nodded. "I'm fine, Star."

She was going to go say hello to Jacob, when something dawned on her. Someone was missing. She didn't hear Angel's answer, and missed Starfire starting her 'new friend' routine. She just looked around desperately.

"Where's Beast Boy?"

Robin frowned. "We thought he was with you."

Raven just shook her head. She stretched out her mind, searching for him. She couldn't feel him. At all. She gasped, opening her eyes.

Beast Boy was gone.

**Oh no, Beast Boy's gone! If you want to know what happened to him, REVIEW! PLEASE THEY MAKE ME SO HAPPY AND I DON"T GET MANY! So…yeah. Please review and tell me what you think. =) **


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